The Hill: A bold bet by the U.S. to end the world’s most neglected diseases
Lisa Rotondo, director of ENVISION, USAID’s flagship global NTD project implemented by RTI International

“This year, the U.S. government marks 10 years of commitment to fighting neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). … The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched arguably the largest public-private partnership in its history and one of the most underrated global development success stories of our time. It’s an effort backed by longstanding bipartisan leadership and support in Congress for foreign assistance, and specifically for global health. … Now, the NTD-fighting community stands at a crossroads: We must accelerate our work if we want to achieve ambitious control and elimination goals, while simultaneously building a strong foundation that will sustain success after 2020. … We have built platforms that can now deploy a decade of experience and tools more effectively and further than ever before. The U.S. government’s bold bet 10 years ago to invest in NTDs — as well as our collective achievements as a community — is making a real impact in the lives of hundreds of millions of people. We can’t lose momentum now…” (9/28).